I wouldn't tie back baby dread. Get a plain black tam. It should look pretty neat. Also, make sure that you look very presentable in every other aspect of your appearance. Add that to a professional and polite demeanour and I don't see why you would have an issue, given your future working position.

To be totally honest with you, I would be disappointed with the progress, were I in your shoes. That being said, you should stick with it. You will be much happier with the result after fighting through such a long forming stage. Some here dread for "spiritual" reasons. It's not for me, and i don't know about you, but I can maybe see how the hard fought road will give more satisfaction once the end has been reached.

You should try and sync your washing days with your training. If dreads stay wet for too long, and they will be wet on the inside even if they feel dry on the outside (when mature at least), it runs the risk of developing mold. Treat your babies as if they are mature so you are well used to the routine.

Check out my profile. I started at about 3-4 inches. I have curly hair too, but it is quite thick. Curly hair dreads great. The curls help to keep it from looking too wild. All it takes is a rinse and a shake to make it look well maintained. Trust me, we're lucky.

You can send pics from your phone. Just email them straight to your dreadlockssite email address and they go straight on your page.

I don't want to puch you into anything, but, again, I am super glad i started over and went natural. It's up to you at the end of the day, but if your dreads are very tight you might want to try and loosen them anyway. TnR should never be too tight as it slows the process.

I did tnr after 5 weeks of going natural. I immediately took them out, brushed my hair and went natural again. You won't miss those 4 weeks if you do start again. I'm fast approaching my year since that brushing and I'm very glad that I did it. Just my experience.